Hall of Fame - Herkemayah

Original article written by Laura Ferguson posted 13 years 1 week ago

The firey colt drew all eyes upon him as he entered the auction ring. Neck bowed, feet dancing, he eyed the bidders warily. Named Herkemayah, his good looks and cat-like balance drew numerous bids, but at the end of the live auction, it was Alysse Jacobs who emerged victorious, having spent $3 million on the yearling.

It was a bit of a gamble. The colt was his dam’s third foal, and the pedigree a bit confused. His dam had run over a variety of distances, but proved best at 1 1/16 miles and 1 1/8 miles. She had been bred to sprinters for her first two foals, and while they had not accomplished much, this cross looked much more promising. The sire was Trophy, who had won the Champagne Stakes, and had a blue blooded pedigree that he had given glimpses of living up to, but he had been sheer frustration at three, knocking on the door without actually putting it together in a big race.

Herekemayah showed quickly that he had inherited his parents’ good qualities, and while he was a handful, that energy could be channeled. He wasted no time in making his debut, in the Em’s Always Busy Stakes, a race that really was too short for him. But, he didn’t know that. Despite acting like the green baby that he was and delaying the start to the point where fans wondered if he’d simply be scratched, he was eventually loaded into the gate. From there he exploded out like he couldn’t leave the gate far enough behind and won for fun, finishing six lengths clear of Standard (who would go on to win several G1 races and over $1 million), stopping the clock with the crazy fast time of 0:56.30, which would be a speed figure somewhere between the upper 90’s and 100 these days. The dark bay had been a poorly kept secret before, but now everyone knew about Jacobs’ talented charge. He went off the heavy favorite in the Hopeful Stakes-G1, and despite once again being in a race shorter than his pedigree suggested, Herkemayah had no problem handling either the field or the distance. There were still a few antics in the paddock and post parade, but the rest of the race went smoothly, and just like that, he was a G1 winner.

From there, it was on to the Futurity Stakes-G2 at a flat mile, and again, there was no contest, his star shining brightly down the stretch as once again, he won under wraps. With a win over the track, Herkemayah was ready for his first real class test in the Steward’s Cup Juvenile. He would hook up with the freakishly fast and unbeaten Lightninginabottle. The two colts dueled down the stretch, but it would be Lightning who reached the wire first, a scant ¼ length ahead of his rival. While it was a disappointing loss, the colt had clearly established himself among the top of his division, and hopes were high heading into Louisville.

Herkemayah had one prep race, the West Virginia Derby (this race is now in the fall, but at the time, it was a Derby prep), and he won for fun, leaving an outclassed field eight lengths behind. The only question is whether it left him fit enough for the Derby. At Louisville Downs, the colt faced a rematch with Lightninginabottle, and the unbeaten Saga, who had bypassed the Steward’s Cup to focus on the Derby. Herkemayah gave it his all, but fell a length short of Saga at the wire. The two colts would have a rematch a week later in the Baltimore Crown, and this time, it was Herkemayah who emerged the victor, leaving Saga 2 ¼ lengths behind. His connections were ecstatic as the met the colt in the winners’ circle to collect his blanket of Black Eyed Susans.

Next came the Long Island Classic, and both Saga and Herkemayah were back to try to collect a second classic. Even the fans could not have anticipated what came next. The dark bay colt broke sharply and proceeded to set uncontested fractions. The longer he remained out in front, the stronger he got, and simply pulled clear of the field, storming down the stretch as if he was the only horse out on the track. The colt opened up more than sixteen lengths on Saga and the rest of the field, and was still 14 ¾ lengths clear of Saga at the wire while under a hand ride. It was one of the most dominating performances in the Long Island Classic ever, with probably only Silver Valor’s 22 length romp topping it.

The colt would be given a well deserved freshening, which was a good thing, as his return race was no walk in the park. He would face Lightninginabottle again in the Woodward Handicap, as well as Lokite Monday, who was fresh off of a victory in the Kentucky Cup Classic. It proved to be no problem, as once again, the colt emerged the winner.

At that point, most horses would have gone on to the Steward’s Cup, but a new challenge presented itself instead. While Herkemayah had spent the summer on a well earned break from the Triple Crown, Giocomo ran his unbeaten streak to seven, winning the Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes. The two colts would face off at Baltimore in a $500,000 match race instead of contesting the Steward’s Cup Classic. The dark bay took it in stride, and with his speed, easily took the lead and won by 1 ½ lengths. At that point, with eight wins and two seconds from ten starts and just $280,000 shy of earning back his purchase price, the colt was retired.

Herkemayah proved to be an influential and interesting sire. His foals included routers such as Steward’s Cup Classic hero and multiple champion Kamikaze, Steward’s Cup Distaff winner Premier, near millionairess Tendency, and Simmy award winning Feature Race. They also included classy milers in Steward’s Cup Dirt Mile winner Wheely A Class Act, Steward’s Cup Filly and Mare Dirt Mile heroine Moed, and Brooklyn Mile-G1 winner Desert Journey. Depending on the mare, he could get you a quality miler or router, and was a top caliber sire, with more than $25 million in progeny earnings. He is currently living the good life as a pensioner at his owner’s Royal Acres, and is a deserving addition to the Hall of Fame.

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